What Are Caucuses and How Do They Work?

How Is a Caucus Different Than a Regular Primary?

A regular primary is essentially a ballot election, open to all eligible voters in that party.

Caucuses, on the other hand, take place at a very specific time, in a specific place.

If youre late or unavailable, you cannot participate.

So what actually happens at these caucuses?

For both Republicans and Democrats, a caucus can be a long affair.

Each precinct chooses or introduces its delegates, or their party representatives to the national convention later this year.

Party officials do some last-minute campaigning or give a few speeches, and sometimes presidential candidates will even attend.

Finally, after all of that, the actual voting will begin.

Thats where things start to differ dramatically.

Thats it for a Republican Party caucus.

Heres how it all breaks down:

The total number of voters at the caucus are counted.

Voters are then asked to vote by swarming into groups for each candidate.

They may also stand aside in an undecided group at first.

The number of people in each group is then counted off.

Any candidate that doesnt have at least 15% of the total head count is removed.

Then the realignment phase begins.

That process continues until there are only viable candidates left.

Some states have binding primary elections, which are more of a winner-take-all contest.

In states with binding primary elections, all of a states delegates are awarded to one candidate.

Other states have proportional primary elections, where delegates are awarded in proportion to the popular vote.

Finally, there are non-binding primary elections.

After the delegates votes are counted, each party announces their presidential nominee.

Some are open, meaning a registered voter may participate in any caucus regardless of party affiliation.

Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Minnesota all have open caucuses.

The earlier you might register to vote the better.

A caucus is different than a standard primary, but you still need to be a registered voter.

Even if your state does offer same-day voter registration, youll probably save everyone some time by registering beforehand.

Be punctual.To participate in a caucus, you absolutelymustbe on time.

Both parties are very strict with that.

So get registered and go be the change that you seek.

So why all the hoopla?